As is well known, checks and similar documents are now almost universally provided with a strip of machine readable indicia extending along the lower edge thereof to facilitate the automatic processing of the documents. For example, such indicia may take the form of magnetic ink which is printable in such a way as to be both visually readable and machine readable. In almost all instances, checks bearing such indicia move from the maker to the payee and through the banking system without incident, and in such cases the checking handling procedure is substantially fully automatic. Occasionally, however, a particular check may be either mis-encoded or mutiliated to such an extent that the automatic processing of the check is impossible. In such cases it has been found desirable to provide means for re-encoding the check, whereby the automatic processing thereof is once again facilitated.
Numerous attempts have heretofore been made at providing a workable apparatus for facilitating the re-encoding of mis-encoded or mutilated checks. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,431,404; 3,531,628; 3,576,972; 3,588,456; 3,593,913; 4,060,711; and 4,128,202 all relate to check handling envelopes. U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,924 discloses a U-shaped check carrier which provides a strip extending beneath the lower edge of the check for receiving machine readable indicia.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,808,871 and 2,848,163 both relate to systems in which a tab is secured to the upper edge of each check and is provided with punched holes to facilitate the automatic processing thereof. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,586,834; 3,770,943; and 4,278,880 all relate to systems wherein a tab is secured to the lower edge of a check and is adapted to receive the same indicia that was originally used to encode the check, for example, magnetic ink. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 3,770,943 discloses a system wherein a check processing tab is secured to the lower edge of a check and is provided with an indicia receiving surface which is coplanar with the face of the check proper.
Notwithstanding the foregoing and other attempts at providing a workable system for handling mis-encoded and mutiliated checks, it has been found that a need exists for still further improvements in the art. For example, it is no longer considered necessary to provide a check processing tab with an indicia receiving surface which is coplanar with the face of the check. The present invention incorporates these and other criteria to provide a method of and apparatus for facilitating the processing of checks which incorporates numerous advantages over the prior art.
In accordance with the broader aspects of the invention, a strip of check processing tab material has at least one surface adapted to receive machine readable indicia thereon. The strip is indented or otherwise processed along one edge of the indicia receiving surface to provide an indented zone. A layer of adhesive is then received in the indented zone. The adhesive layer is provided with an outermost surface which is coplanar with the indicia receiving surface of the strip.
The foregoing steps result in a check processing tab assembly having a uniform cross section throughout its width. This greatly facilitates the winding of the check processing tab assemblies into a roll and the subsequent unwinding of the check processing tab assemblies from the roll. That is, the tendency of prior check processing tab designs to twist in one direction during winding due to non-uniform cross sectional configurations is completely eliminated. Thus, by means of the present invention, check processing tab assemblies may be wound into a tight roll having no tendency to twist or turn in either direction. This facilitates not only a reduction in storage and transportation volume, but also eliminates any possibility that the roll of check processing tab assemblies will collapse during transportation or prior to usage, in which event the rewinding or replacement of the entire roll would be necessitated.
In accordance with more specific aspects of the invention, the adhesive that is received in the indented zone of the strip of check processing tab material is a thermal adhesive. This is highly advantageous in that it eliminates the need of a disposable layer for protecting the adhesive during transportation and storage. The check processing tab assemblies are secured to mis-encoded or mutiliated checks by aligning the check to be re-encoded with one of the assemblies, activating the thermal adhesive of the assembly to secure the check thereto, and separating the attached check processing tab from the roll of unused check processing tab assemblies.